Just one thing here: Xavier Basketball

I've pasted above just the bottom half of the A10 bracket.  The rest of it only matters if the Muskies win Friday and Saturday.  (Go to the "Info on your Muskies" page to see the full bracket)

For what seems like the millionth time, we could be playing Dayton in the A10 tourney....since Dayton plays 10 times harder against XU than any other opponent, I'd rather not play them in the postseason.  But a win would feel pretty good.  If Dayton does beat GW on Tuesday, this game Friday would be a bubble-buster for sure.  The loser of Dayton/Xavier will not be going to the NCAA Tourney.  The winner would still be alive.

Get well-rested Muskie fans; this upcoming weekend could be nerve-racking!  Go Muskies!

Senior Day was appropriately led by Kenny Frease and Tu Holloway.  Frease had 18 points and 12 rebounds and Tu had 24 points.  The team had 8 blocks and 3 were by Mark Lyons.

It wasn't all that pretty.  XU was down by as much as 14 in the 1st half before cutting it to 7 for halftime.  Tu and Kenny's play in the 2nd half got us the lead and helped us pull away.

The win, combined with LaSalle's win over the Bonnies means that the Muskies have the 3rd seed in the A10 tourney and a bye.  They will be playing in Atlantic City Friday evening.  More details to come!

GO MUSKIES!

We will see the Seniors' last home game at Cintas this Saturday.  No disrespect to Andre Walker who has been a solid contributor this year, but I wanted to share a few quick thoughts on Tu Holloway and Kenny Frease.

Kenny is 1 point shy of 1,000 career points.  He will be the 50th Xavier player to join the 1,000 point club.  He's at 679 rebounds and 122 blocks for this career.  I can still remember where I was when he scored 12 points off the bench to help give us the win at LSU his Sophomore year.  Because of being such a highly touted recruit and his sheer size, he has received a lot of criticism over the years, but I give him credit.  He's worked hard and I can't wait to stand and cheer for him on Saturday.

Tu now has 1,682 points, just 8 shy of 10th all time at XU.  He's 3rd all time with 534 assists and has also grabbed 406 rebounds.  He's only the 2nd Muskie to get over 1,000 points and 500 assists (first being Jumpin' Jamal Walker).  We know about all the recognition he received for his great season last year.  He's received quite a bit of criticism himself this year, especially since the fight.  It's a shame that many outside of Xavier have an incorrect view of what kind of person he really is. 

Tu and Kenny helped Xavier win 3 A10 titles and make (at least) 3 NCAA Tournaments.  While I'm really hoping they will make it 4 NCAAs, let's be honest...we've gotten pretty spoiled in the last handful of years.  Yes, our expectations have been raised so we expect it every year.  But let's not forget, Tu and Kenny are two of the guys who made a difference in this program and are a big reason why we've gone from a mindset of "hoping we make it in" to "expecting we make it in". I'm going to stand and applaud Saturday for all they've done for Xavier University over the last 4 years.  I hope you'll make it and do the same.

Go Muskies!

After all the ups and (mostly) downs of the season and 6 conferences losses, the Muskies can still get a 1st round bye and a top 4 seed in the A10 tourney.  Why?  Well, UDump and UMass both blew chances last night at tying XU in the standings.  Both teams would've been ahead of us in seeding for the tournament due to tie-breakers.  But both lost last night.

Temple has locked up the #1 seed, St. Louis the #2.  St Bonnie has a 1 game lead over the Muskies for the #3 seed but they play at LaSalle Saturday while the Muskies are at home vs. Charlotte.  So, right now they would be the #4 seed, but a #3 seed is still possible.

All the Muskies can do though is win their game Saturday.  And IF we do, we earn a bye in the tourney.

Go Muskies!

Last night's game gave me the worst feeling watching a game in as long as I can remember.  We play a complete 1st half and we're up 11 in the 2nd half, only to give up one of the worst runs I've ever seen and a few minutes later we're down 11.

Streak of 5 straight A-10 titles is officially over, chances at a bye in the A10 are nearly zero, and chances of making the NCAA Tourney are slim.  I'm so dissapointed, angry, frustrated....I have nothing positive to say.